


We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

by Killer_Rabbit_of_Caerbannog



Category: Aquaman (2018)
Genre: Codependency, M/M, MerMay 2019, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-10 22:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18669910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killer_Rabbit_of_Caerbannog/pseuds/Killer_Rabbit_of_Caerbannog
Summary: MerMay Aquamaster drabbles





	1. Flower Crown - Growing up together AU

**Author's Note:**

> Based on Tk's prompt list for MerMay.
> 
> First chapter is an AU where Atlanna kills that bitch Orvax early on and lets her boys hang out, because kidfic!.

Orm scowls curiously when he dips his head and inhales the brackish water. The frown wrinkles his chubby face, and Arthur can’t help grinning at the serious expression his little brother sports. Arthur wades back to him, watching as Orm stands again and spits the water out.

“Tastes strange,” he says, nose wrinkling in annoyance, and Arthur jumps forward, scooping him into his arms, ignoring Orm’s howls of rage and furious wriggling. “Release me at once, you brain dead sea slug.”

Arthur smirks and releases Orm, dumps him into the water with a splash and collapses into the swamp with laughter at Orm’s outraged expression. “Sorry little brother, but you are just too cute.”

Orm’s scowl deepens but his pale cheeks go a ruddy pink, so telling compared to Arthur’s own sun-dark skin.

“Why are we in this place?” Orm glares at the swamp as Arthur begins to wade into deeper waters. “The mud is unpleasant.”

Arthur laughs under his breath. His brother spoke so strangely, just like an adult, at odds with his small frame and plump cheeks. _Just like a prince_ , he thinks. “Relax, Ormi,” Arthur says, reaching back to twine they hands together. “This is summer vacation; you’re _meant_ to have fun.”

“This doesn’t seem very fun,” Orm grumbles, but his small hands still curl around Arthur’s fingers all the same.

Shrugging slightly, Arthur tugs Orm behind him as they wade through the silt, deeper into the swamp. “We’re going on a quest,” Arthur tells Orm proudly once they’ve rounded a bend and he can be sure they are safely out of earshot of Mom or Pops. He grins, all teeth, and his younger brother straightens with interest at his smile. “Pops told me there are _gators_ in these waters.”

“What’s that?” Orm asks, hushed, blue eyes round.

Arthur flicks his hair over his shoulder and puffs out his small chest. “They’re like your tylosaur but they won’t grow as big. We’re going to pull on their tail and then touch their nose. The game is you have to be fast and not get bit, otherwise you’re out.”

Orm nods his head solemnly and kicks his heels out, floating on the river surface as Arthur tugs him along by their joined hands. They wade through the silt until the mud falls away beneath their feet, the water becoming clearer and river plants clog the water, tangling around their ankles like ropes. A heron eyes them wearily, crouched over a sprawling nest and a screaming chick. Arthur tugs Orm up by the hand and swings him in the air before dropping him onto the river bank and collapsing in a pile next to him, wringing his clothes out over Orm’s pale legs and cackling when Orm kicks at him with a scowl.

“And now we wait. Dad says they move around in the water later in the morning, so we can keep a lookout here.”

Arthur sits back on his hands, stretching his thin legs out in the dappled sunlight. He tries to ignore the insistent tapping on his arm.

“’m hungry, brother,” Orm says, lip already pushed into an impressive pout.

Arthur rolls his eyes at the puppy-dog eyes being levelled at him. “So? What do you want me to do about it?”

“I’m _hungry_ ,” Orm repeats, eyes turning glassy with the threat of tears. Arthur groans. After ten years of being an only child, he can’t say he ever imagined how _annoying_ having a sibling was.

Arthur shrugs. “Tough shit,” feeling so very cool at the swear and the way his little brother’s face twists with disapproval. He lies back, sinking into the mossy ground and sighing when a small body presses against his arm, small fingers plucking at his pounamu necklace.

“Can’t you get me something?” the voice whines in his ear, pitched higher than usual.

Arthur pinches Orm’s side, but the small body presses closer, wrapping plump arms around his neck. He tries to close his eyes, ignore the wriggling body at his side tugging at his hair, his still-wet shirt, and reminds himself that his mom would definitely kill him if he returned home with baby brother sporting a black eye. She _did_ tell him he needed to look out for Orm during summer vacation since it was his first real trip to the surface, and he _had_ promised her.

“Arthuuuuur,” the voice whines again, louder this time, and small hands press against his cheeks, squeezing them between sweaty palms until his cheeks bulge. Arthur bats Orm's hands away with a growl.

“Ok, fine, have it your way, you little brat,” Arthur snarls scrambling up towards the swamp.

Orm sits up, all smiles now that he has Arthur’s undivided attention, watching with a thumb in his mouth as Arthur stomps to the water’s edge and scoops up an armful of lilly pads. Several frogs croak in annoyance as Arthur pulls his leafy armful to the riverbank and dumps them unceremoniously on Orm’s lap.

“There, eat these,” Arthur snaps, waving the dripping stalks. Orm blinks, eyes wide and guileless and _worshipful_. “God, you’re useless up here, you know that?” Arthur snaps and sinks his teeth into the soft stalk, lets the fresh water fill his mouth and opens it to show Orm the puppy mess in his mouth. Orm grins, delighted when Arthur manages to swallow with barely a grimace, picking out several tender buds to chew on as Arthur surreptitiously gags at the acidic flavour on his tongue. The atlanteans seemed to have iron stomachs, something Arthur knew he definitely hadn't inherited after Mom had offered him kelp to chew on during his eighth birthday and he'd vomited all over his brand new bike.

Orm sits in his pile of lily pads, chewing quietly as Arthur lies back with a sigh.

The sun rises, and Arthur doesn’t mean to doze until small hands brush against his shoulder, his cheek, and Arthur blinks awake to Orm glaring down at him, pink faced and hands stained green with sap.

Arthur blinks, touching his head at the unfamiliar weight. The spikey petals tickle his eye, the back of his neck, water dripping from the thick roots down Arthur’s shirt.

“What’s this?” he grins crookedly.

Orm goes a brilliant red, darker than Arthur’s seen yet in these past few weeks spent together. “It’s for you,” Orm stammers, ears crimson under Arthur’s amused stare.

Arthur plucks the flowers from his head, the wet roots still glistening with water. The stems had been crudely twisted together, blooms sitting unevenly around the band, and several petals already had turned brown under being mishandled.

Arthur spins the ‘gift’ in his hands, smiling teasingly at his brother. “You wove me this pretty crown?” he says, aiming for uncaring, flippant, but knows from the way Orm’s expression hardens, he hadn’t managed to fool him one bit.

“A king deserves a crown,” Orm intones, as regal as a six year old can manage.

This time it’s Arthur’s turn to blush, the red of his cheeks easily hidden by his long hair and darker skin, but Orm’s face lights up with pleasure all the same when Arthur carefully puts the flowers back on his head, the water lilies tangling in his ropy curls.

“What a cool crown I get to wear,” Arthur says just to see Orm’s pleased smile split his face, glowing with pride.

 _One day_ , Arthur promises as Orm goes back to munching on his stalks, _I’ll give you a crown of your own, little brother_ _. A crown of shining gold and pearls._


	2. Pink Lagoon - Post movie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mermay day 2 - Pink Lagoon. This is just pure post-movie flirty shit.

**Prompt – Pink Lagoon**

Orm steps through the front door of the Curry house calling for his mother and freezes at the monstrosity in front of him. Every part of the house has been decorated in a lurid pink, rose petals scattered across every available surface and large paper love hearts emblazoned with slogans such as “To my significant otter” and “You octopi my thoughts”. Orm recognises his mother’s handwriting in several of them. He steps back against the door, repulsed by the overwhelming sentimentality of it all. A shower of heart-shaped confetti falls from the doorframe, dusting his shoulders.

“It’s really something, huh?”

Orm glares over his shoulder as Arthur ambles into the living room. His brother has a flower tucked behind his ear.

“What is this display,” Orm asks, not quite keeping his lip from curling in distaste.

Arthur raises a brow, grin spreading across his face. “Valentine’s Day. Do you not know about that?”

“Ah, so it is one of your primitive surface holidays,” Orm says knowingly, trying not to be irked when Arthur’s grin widens.

“A day of love.” Arthur sidles closer, ignoring the way Orm stiffens when their shoulders brush. “Mom and Pops kinda went overboard, but I can’t blame them since this is their first Valentines back together.”

Orm eyes the room again, wrinkling his nose. There is a tray of cupcakes on the table with tiny love hearts sprinkled on top of pink icing. One of the cupcakes has a conspicuously large bite out of it. He glances at Arthur, noting the smudge of pink still caught in his beard. He reaches out to thumb it away, licking away the pink from his finger. Arthur shudders, eyes wide, and Orm turns away to hide his smile.

“So all of this is a typical display of affection?” Orm gestures at the room.

His brother shrugs, eyes burning as he continues to stare at Orm. “People normally don’t go quite so over-the-top, but yeah. Flowers and a card are usually the basic gift, but some people like to go overboard. You know, taking their partner on a trip, buying a 10-foot-tall pink teddy bear, writing ‘I love you’ in the clouds, that kind of thing.”

He nods, even if his brother’s examples don’t quite make sense. This is a day of courting. That, he can understand well enough. The surface-dwellers preoccupation for pink is unusual and their depictions of hearts are anatomically flawed, but he grasps the basic concept.

“Very well,” Orm grabs Arthur’s arm and drags him out the door.

“Hey, lemme go!” Arthur pushes at Orm’s hands, but he ignores his brother, pulling him down to the jetty.

“You will accompany me,” Orm tells him, shoving him off the jetty into the churning water.

Diving in after him, he finds Arthur floating on the sandy sea floor, arms crossed. “’M not going anywhere just cuz you said so.”

Orm smirks, drifting close until he can see each fleck of gold in Arthur’s iris, the way his pupils blow wide and his mouth parts hungrily. “You will come with me,” Orm says without a trace of doubt and twists away.

He swims towards his ship, not bothering to look behind him. He knows Arthur will follow him.

 

 

 

Orm stops his ship when the sea floor rises sharply, gloom giving way to a sea of coral and perfectly blue water. He glances at his brother’s lolling head, hair floating gently around his head, quiet snores filling the ship. He reaches out, brushing his fingers through the floating strands and marvelling at the dark colour that gradually lightens to a pale gold so similar to his own hair. He shivers, closing his own eyes to gather himself, then sharply flicks Arthur’s cheek.

His brother awakens with a snort.

“We’re here,” Orm says shortly, pushing out of the ship towards the rippling surface above them.

“Little prick,” Arthur grumbles as he follows him.

Orm smirks, glancing over his shoulder. “Not that little, dear brother.”

It is a challenge to keep his face blank at Arthur’s undisguised delight at the innuendo, the way he reacts with such joy every time Orm makes a joke fills every inch of Orm with molten heat.

They break the surface, the sunlight dazzling in its brightness. Arthur blinks, wide eyed at they approach the beach, sun burning bright compared to the winter chill that still clings to the air in Maine. Orm wonders how familiar this southern land is to Arthur. He knows Tom’s birthplace is nearby, although he is unfamiliar with that land. This ocean though, this is the seas of his childhood, the training grounds of his youth where Atlanna had trained him and Mera to master their powers amidst the coral forests and shallow waters. She had led him onto the beach, smiling at his wobbling legs, and carefully guided his hands and feet until he could move just as easily on land as in the sea. When he manages to move through each form with his training staff without stumbling once, Atlanna beams at him and leads him and Mera through the undergrowth over a crest and points out the secret treasure lining just beyond the shoreline.

Despite the long journey, Arthur looks alert, following him without a word as they make their way from the surf into the wet sand. His eyebrows jump when Orm makes for the bushes, but he doesn’t ask, and Orm can’t help but bask in the wordless obedience, the absolute trust. He could be leading Arthur to an ambush, to an execution, the Black Manta lying in wait to slit his throat and return the throne to Orm, but Arthur doesn’t hesitate to follow. It makes Orm want to drag Arthur to the ground and ride him until he screams. He smiles to himself. There would be time enough to indulge in that afterwards.

The ground tilts downwards and Orm slows so Arthur is at his side, watching him out of the corner of his eye. Arthur’s mouth drops open when the shoulder-high vegetation abruptly clears to reveal a sandy shore and the still waters of a salt-lake.

“What is this?” Arthur breathes, eyes wide.

Orm smirks, pleased at the hushed reverence in his brother’s voice. He strides forwards, wading into the pink water and turns with a flourish.

“Valentine’s Day,” he says, watches the way Arthur’s soft lips part in surprise.

“So you brought me to a pink lake for Valentines?” Arthur says faintly, crouching to touch the cloudy water.

Orm tilts his head. “You explained it is customary for partners to take part in such displays.”

Arthur’s head jerks up but Orm keeps his face as blank as possible even as there is a faint stab of pain in his chest at the incredulity on his brother’s face.

Arthur swallows, tongue darting out to wet his lips. “So this is my present?”

Orm shrugs.

His brother grins, peeling off his jacket as he steps into the pink water. Orm stays stock-still as Arthur wades closer until their noses brush, hot breath fanning across his face. Arthur searches his eyes, looking for something that Orm cannot fathom. Whatever it is, he must find his answer, face softening, Arthur tilts his head and brush his lips against Orm’s. there is a wet swipe of tongue against the seam of his lips, the faint hint of teeth tugging at his lips, and Orm trembles at the rough scrape of Arthur’s beard against his skin. It is a soft kiss, gentle and too full of something that fills Orm’s greedy heart, placating a worry he didn’t even know he had.

“Thank you, Orm,” Arthur murmurs against his lips, and Orm helplessly sways closer, wants that mouth on him always. “I love you too.”

Something snaps inside Orm’s heart at the words, the inescapable warmth in Arthur’s eyes as he looks at him, leaving Orm snarling as he wraps a hand around the back of Arthur’s neck to drag him back to his mouth, pulling him into the pink lagoon as he bites at Arthur’s lips until the salt of his blood mixes with the water and Orm can draw it all into his lungs and fill himself with his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now whenever I visit the pink lagoons in WA I'm gonna think about fish bros fucking, which is honestly a win.


End file.
